WOMEN S EMPOWERMENT AND ITS LINK TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Transcription

1 WOMEN S EMPOWERMENT AND ITS LINK TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT New York March 2016

2 MANDATE OF THE COMMISSION The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), is a global policy-making body dedicated exclusively to promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women. The Commission was established by ECOSOC resolution 11(II) of 21 June 1946 with a mandate to prepare recommendations on promoting women s rights in political, economic, civil, social and educational fields. The Commission is also responsible for monitoring, reviewing and appraising progress achieved and problems encountered in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action of 1995 and of the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly of 2000, at all levels, and to support gender mainstreaming. Every year, representatives of Member States, United Nations entities and non-governmental organizations in consultative status with ECOSOC gather at United Nations Headquarters in New York for the Commission s annual session. Usually held for ten days in March, the session provides an opportunity to review progress towards gender equality and the empowerment of women, identify challenges, set global standards and norms and formulate policies to promote gender equality and women s empowerment worldwide. The session is also a key opportunity for policy makers, advocates, researchers and activists to network and strategize, mobilize and plan new initiatives and actions to further the cause of gender equality and women s empowerment. PROGRAMME OF WORK AND WORKING METHODS The Commission s annual programme of work and its working methods are set out in relevant ECOSOC resolutions. The current working methods call for a thematic approach, and determine the inter-active nature of the session, the format of the outcomes and the participation of nongovernmental organizations (see ECOSOC resolution 2015/6). 2

3 SIXTIETH SESSION (2016) The sixtieth session of the Commission will take place from 14 to 24 March The Commission will address as its priority theme Women s empowerment and its link to sustainable development. In addition, it will evaluate progress in the implementation of the agreed conclusions from the fifty-seventh session (2013) on The elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls. The Commission will also discuss its multi-year programme of work. The nine-day session will include a ministerial segment with round tables and other high level interactive dialogues, a general discussion, as well as interactive dialogues and panel discussions. Stakeholders will organize many side events to draw attention to critical aspects of the work on gender equality. Details are available at: OUTCOMES Agreed conclusions on the priority theme These are the Commission s principal outcome on the priority theme. They are negotiated by all Member States, are short and succinct, and identify gaps and challenges in the implementation of previous commitments and make action-oriented recommendations for all States, relevant intergovernmental bodies, mechanisms and entities of the United Nations system and other relevant stakeholders. They aim to accelerate implementation and are widely disseminated to the public so as to encourage follow up action (resolution 2015/6). Other outcomes The Commission usually adopts a small number of resolutions on different topics. In addition, summaries by the Chair of the Commission of high-level round tables and interactive dialogues highlight key issues discussed, including recommendations for further action. These summaries are not negotiated. 3

4 DOCUMENTATION The Commission will consider a number of reports prepared by UN Women, including a report on the priority theme and a report on progress made on the review theme at national level. Statements submitted by NGOs also form part of the documentation for the session. The following documents will become available on the CSW website at unwomen.org/en/csw/csw six weeks prior to the session: E/CN.6/2016/1: Provisional agenda and annotations E/CN.6/2016/1/Add.1: Proposed organization of work E/CN.6/2016/2: Report of the Executive Director of UN Women E/CN.6/2016/3: Women s empowerment and its link to sustainable development (Report of the Secretary-General) E/CN.6/2016/4: The elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls (Report of the Secretary-General) E/CN.6/2016/5: Discussion guide for the CSW ministerial segment on the priority theme (Note by the Secretariat) E/CN.6/2016/6: The situation of, and assistance to, Palestinian women (Report of the Secretary-General) E/CN.6/2016/7: Release of women and children taken hostage, including those subsequently imprisoned, in armed conflicts (Report of the Secretary-General) E/CN.6/2016/8: Report of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women on the activities of the United Nations Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women E/CN.6/2016/9: Women, the girl child and HIV and AIDS (Report of the Secretary-General) E/CN.6/2016/10: Proposals on the Commission s priority themes for future sessions (Report of the Secretary-General) 4

5 E/CN.6/2016/11: Letter from the President of the Economic and Social Council to the Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women E/CN.6/2016/12: Input to the 2016 ECOSOC high-level segment (Note by the Secretary-General) E/CN.6/2016/13: Results of the sessions of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Note by the Secretariat) E/CN.6/2016/NGO/1 179: Written statements submitted by nongovernmental organizations. THE ROLE OF UN WOMEN UN Women is the United Nations organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide. UN Women supports United Nations Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality, and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to implement these standards. It stands behind women s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on five priority areas: increasing women s leadership and participation; ending violence against women; engaging women in all aspects of peace and security processes; enhancing women s economic empowerment; and making gender equality central to national development planning and budgeting. UN Women also coordinates and promotes the United Nations system s work in advancing gender equality. UN Women serves as the substantive Secretariat of the Commission and in that capacity, supports all aspects of the Commission s work. UN Women prepares the evidence-base, policy analysis and recommendations that underpin the Commission s deliberations on the themes selected for each session, as well as for negotiated outcomes. UN Women reaches out to stakeholders, creates awareness and works to build alliances 5

6 and forge consensus around the topics under consideration. The Entity also facilitates the participation of civil society representatives in the Commission s sessions. In the lead-up to CSW60, UN Women convened an expert group meeting on Women s empowerment and its link to sustainable development from 1 to 4 November, and a civil society dialogue on November A multi-stakeholder forum was held on 21 January at the UN Headquarters in New York to build alliances and strengthen partnerships. MEMBERS AND BUREAU OF THE COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN The Commission consists of 45 members who are elected for a period of four years by ECOSOC on the basis of equitable geographical distribution, according to the following pattern: (a) Thirteen members from African States (b) Eleven members from Asia-Pacific States (c) Nine members from Latin American and Caribbean States (d) Eight members from Western European and other States (e) Four members from Eastern European States. MEMBERSHIP OF THE SIXTIETH SESSION (Term expires at close of session in year) 1. Albania Bangladesh Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Brazil Burkina Faso China Colombia Congo Cuba

7 12. Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Finland Ghana Germany Guyana India Indonesia Iran (Islamic Republic of) Israel Japan Kazakhstan Kenya Lesotho Liberia Liechtenstein Malawi Mongolia Niger Pakistan Paraguay Republic of Korea Russian Federation Spain Sudan Switzerland Tajikistan Uganda United Republic of Tanzania United States of America Uruguay 2018 BUREAU MEMBERS OF THE SIXTIETH SESSION The Bureau of the Commission plays a crucial role in facilitating the preparation, and in ensuring the successful outcome of the annual sessions of the Commission. Bureau members are elected for two years. Chair: H.E. Mr. Antonio de Aguiar Patriota (Brazil), Latin American and Caribbean States Group Vice-Chairs: Ms. Fatma Alzahraa Hassan (Egypt), African States Group, Vice-Chair Ms. Šejla Đurbuzović (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Eastern European States Group, Vice-Chair Mr. Jun Saito (Japan), Asia-Pacific States Group, Vice-Chair designate Mr. Andreas Glossner (Germany), Western European and other States Group, Vice-Chair designate. 7

8 For more information on the sixtieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women please visit: January 2016